[09/24/12 - 10:32 AM]MTV Releases First Quarter "Fantasy Election '12" StatisticsAfter the first two weeks of gameplay, President Barack Obama ranks as the highest scoring candidate.

[via press release from MTV]

MTV RELEASES FIRST QUARTER "FANTASY ELECTION '12" STATISTICS

President Obama Highest Scoring Candidate, Republicans Make Up 14 of the Top 20 Highest Scorers to Date

Governor Romney Ranks #1 for Constituent Engagement, Good Morning America Most Watched Political Show, and Pennsylvania and Florida
Each Claim 2 of the Top 5 Highest Scoring Teams in the Game

New York, NY (September 24, 2012) - MTV today announced highlights from the "first quarter" of the "MTV Fantasy Election '12" season. "Fantasy Election '12" is a first-of-its kind web and mobile game that gives young people a new way to hold candidates accountable and rewards them for getting involved in the 2012 elections.

After the first two weeks of gameplay, President Barack Obama ranks as the highest scoring candidate, with Rep. Tim Griffin (R-AR, House, incumbent) and Linda Lingle (R-HI, Senate, open seat) ranking second and third, respectively. Governor Mitt Romney has the eighth highest score in the game so far, and Republicans dominate the scoreboard overall, claiming 14 of the top 20 scores to date. Governor Romney has generated more points in the category of constituent engagement than any other player in the game, with President Obama and Presidential candidate Gary Johnson coming in second and third in that category. Luke Messer (R-IN, House, open seat), Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC, House, incumbent) and Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA, Senate, incumbent) rank as the most transparent candidates in "Fantasy Election '12" so far.

The signature element of MTV's "Power of 12" campaign, "Fantasy Election '12" enables users to draft a team of candidates pursuing the presidency or congress, earning and losing points based on how their players behave in the real world. Candidate performance is determined by objective data, provided by a range of non-partisan organizations, in five key areas: constituent engagement, honesty, transparency, civility, and public opinion.

MTV plans to release new findings every other week from today through Election Day. Select "first quarter" findings include:

In addition to earning points for candidate behavior, players of "Fantasy Election '12" can earn bonus points for getting involved with the election - including watching or reading campaign-related news, testing their political smarts or checking in to Election '12-related events. Just last week, players of "Fantasy Election '12" checked in more than 17,000 pieces of election-related content on partner news sites Buzzfeed.com/politics, POLITICO.com and Powerof12.org. New York, Florida and Minnesota have logged the most foursquare check-ins to date, and the top five shows or channels most checked in to via GetGlue are:

· Good Morning America

· The McLaughlin Group

· Current TV

· ABC World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer

· 20/20

As of today, Florida and Pennsylvania each claim two of the top five highest scoring teams in the game. Other battleground states including Ohio, North Carolina, Colorado, Indiana and Michigan are represented by the top 20 highest scoring Fantasy Election '12 teams.

Players can create leagues up until October 20, 2012. To create a league, users will need between five to 12 participants. From there, each player will build a "dream team" of candidates by either hand-selecting politicians, or choosing the "pre-ranked" option. Candidate drafts happen automatically on Saturday of each week. Each week, players can add, drop or trade candidates based on performance.

Thousands of people will win prizes for playing "Fantasy Election '12." One grand prize winner will win a "Fantasy VMA Weekend" that includes a trip for the winner and three friends to attend the 2013 MTV "Video Music Awards," along with $25,000 cash. Other top prizes include $10,000 cash, big screen TVs, home theatre systems, Lenovo IdeaPad Ultrabook laptops, and more. MTV will give away over 3,000 total prizes by mid-November, with dozens of people winning iTunes gift cards, discounts to Amazon.com, exclusive MTV content and other prizes on a daily basis.

"Fantasy Election '12" was developed by HYFN, a renowned digital agency who has created social experiences for some of the most recognized brands in the world including Nike, Coke, Disney, Universal and more. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is the principal funder of the game, providing a $250,000 grant.

Building on MTV's nearly 20-year Emmy and Peabody Award-winning political legacy with "Choose or Lose," MTV's "Power of 12" campaign is built specifically to reflect the Millennial generation and changes in the economic and political climate, and is designed to empower them to have a major impact on Election Day and beyond. 45 million 18-29 year olds will be eligible to vote in the 2012 election, representing the largest potential voting bloc in the country.

For information on MTV's "Power of 12" campaign please visit www.Powerof12.org. For information on "Fantasy Election '12" or to form a league now, go to FantasyElection.MTV.com.

About MTV:

MTV is the world's premier youth entertainment brand. With a global reach of more than a half-billion households, MTV is the cultural home of the millennial generation, music fans and artists, and a pioneer in creating innovative programming for young people. MTV reflects and creates pop culture with its Emmy(R), Grammy(R) and Peabody(R) award-winning content built around compelling storytelling, music discovery and activism across TV, online and mobile. MTV's sibling networks MTV2 and mtvU each deliver unparalleled customized content for young males, music fans and college students, and its online hub MTV.com is a leading destination for music, news and pop culture. MTV is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.

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